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Key Points
- The US and Ukraine have signed an economic agreement after months of sometimes fraught negotiations.
- The agreement will fund Ukraine’s reconstruction while giving the US preferential access to Ukrainian minerals deals.
- Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, said the deal would “attract global investment” in Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have hoped that the deal would ensure continued US support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia.
Svyrydenko wrote on X that the accord provides for the US to contribute to the fund both with direct financial contributions and other assistance, such as air defence systems. The US did not directly address that suggestion.
Svyrydenko said the accord allowed Ukraine to “determine what and where to extract” and that its subsoil remains owned by Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (right) was supposed to sign a minerals deal during a visit to the White House in February, which was aborted after a tense meeting with Donald Trump (left). Source: AAP / Joshua Sukoff/Medill News Service
Ukraine is rich in natural resources, including rare earth metals which are used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles and military applications, among others.
Ukraine also has large reserves of iron, uranium and natural gas.
Trump has upended US policy by softening the US stance toward Russia and sometimes falsely blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the war.
A draft of the US-Ukraine agreement seen by Reuters showed Ukraine secured the removal of any requirement for it to pay back the US for past military assistance, something Kyiv had staunchly opposed.
Separately, Ukraine has discussed with European allies the forming of an international force to help ensure Ukraine’s security if a peace agreement is reached with Russia.
